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US Successfully Shoots Down Test-Fired Missile

The U.S. military was able to shoot down a medium-range missile off the coast of Hawaii in a successful test Wednesday, two days after North Korea fired a missile over Japan. (Published Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017)

U.S. forces shot down a medium-range ballistic missile off the coast of Hawaii Wednesday as part of a test conducted amid heightened regional tensions, NBC News reported.

Early Wednesday, U.S. Navy sailors on USS John Paul Jones "successfully conducted a complex defense flight test," the Missile Defense Agency, a section of the Defense Department, said in a statement.

"We are working closely with the fleet to develop this important new capability, and this was a key milestone," the agency's director Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves said in a statement. "We will continue developing ballistic missile defense technologies to stay ahead of the threat as it evolves."

Wednesday's move by the U.S. came after a series of North Korean missile tests and threats by Kim Jong Un. On Monday, Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile over Japan.

President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday morning about the heightened tensions, writing: "The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!"

The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!